SC athletic directors lock in senior transfer rules. Here’s what will change
Transfer rules for high school senior athletes in South Carolina will remain the same for the 2026-27 school year.
Athletic directors from around the state on Wednesday voted down an amendment that would have tweaked the transfer guidelines for rising seniors at the public and private schools that compete in the S.C. High School League. The votes took place on the final day of the annual S.C. Athletic Administrators conference in Charleston.
This school year (2025-26) was the first time athletes were allowed to make a one-time transfer from outside the school where they are zoned. Students can have one penalty-free transfer during the first six semesters after their initial high school enrollment — essentially their freshman, sophomore or junior years — as long as the transfer happens on or before the start of practice date of the sports season in which the transfer occurs.
Rising seniors were grandfathered into the new rules, so there weren’t any unique transfer penalties for them. But that was set to change for 2026-27.
Under the existing rule, “Senior transfers … are subject to a 22 calendar days period of ineligibility or 1/3 the Maximum Number of Contests, whichever is less in which the student participated during the 12 months preceding the transfer. The timing of the transfer dictates the actual penalty.”
The proposed amendment, which was voted down, was sponsored by Lexington 1 Superintendent Keith Price and South Aiken principal Samuel Fuller. It originally would have increased the amount of time a senior transfer would have to sit out. The penalty would have forced the student to miss half of the team’s games in all sports in which they participated in during the 12 months prior to the transfer.
The amendment was changed back to 1/3 of games and eliminated the 22 days part, but was still voted down.
One amendment withdrawn
An amendment to eliminate any penalty for a senior who was transferring for the first time was withdrawn during Wednesday’s meeting. The amendment, sponsored by Rock Hill Schools Superintendent Deborah Elder, wanted to do away with seniors having to sit out 22 days or a third of total games if they were to transfer for the first time in their final year.
Elder explained why she withdrew the proposal.
“Since being new to the state, I have learned that there was nuance and context in South Carolina that we didn’t have in Iowa or New Mexico and I no longer feel that my amendment is applicable in South Carolina,” Elder said during the meeting. “I believe the original amendment should stand.”
One amendment regarding transfers was passed 27-6. That amendment would make the student ineligible in the sport for one calendar year if the student moves in with a coach of the coaching staff, has participated on an outside team in which a coach or volunteer coach from the school to which the student is transferring has particpated.
A student also couldn’t have received or attended personal training sessions with any coach or volunteer coach from the school to which the student is transferring
The part about training sessions was added to the original amendment along a piece Wednesday that said a student couldn’t have participated in a school-based or collegiate-based camp, a SCHSL-sanctioned camp or one of the SC Athletic Coaches association event with a coach of the school he is transferring.
Executive committee restructuring
Amendments also were passed regarding the structure of the SCHSL executive committee.
The first passed amendment would mean the executive committee would now be made up of five or six principals, superintendants and athletic administrators (one per each class and one at-large superintendant) depending on the class structure. The committee also would include an appointee from SC Department of Education and a middle school representative.
Currently, there are five classes but Class 5A is split into two divisions. In the 2026-28 realignment, there will be five classes with Class A split into two divisions.
Under the ammendment, the current SCHSL Executive Committee would be done effective June 30, 2026 and replaced with the newly elected members serving staggering terms with odd-numbered classifications serving three-year terms and even-numbered serving two-year terms.
Two separate amendments also were passed that would add two members of the SC House of Representatives and two from SC Senate. The legislatures would serve two-year terms.
These amendments and structures would be scratched if House Bill 4163 passes through the Senate later this spring. Under the bill passed in the SC House of Representatives earlier this month, the SCHSL is able to keep its name and not be run under the wing of the SC Department of Education. But it established a new 13-member executive committee.
Hearing officers established
Another amendment that was passed is the establishment of officers to hear appeals before they reach the SCHSL executive committee. Under the current structure, the commissioner would rule on the appeal before moving on to league’s executive committee.
According to the amendment, a panel of hearing officers will be assigned individually to hear appeals. Hearing officers may include retired judges, retired or former administrators, or other individuals with demonstrated legal or interscholastic athletic experience.
This story was originally published March 18, 2026 at 12:41 PM.
